Glasgow Letter
I hope everyone is having a relaxing time over the Christmas break.
It is a strange period for the Glasgow Letter because it is a time of year I am very seldom in Glasgow, preferring instead to head back home to Lochaber and get my mum to do my washing! Sometimes I even remember to bring her up a Christmas present as a thank you!
Anyway, apart from a brief visit to the Christmas market at the St Enoch Centre, I cannot claim to have had a particularly Christmassy December in Glasgow.
In my eight years in the city, I have never endorsed the festive Glasgow tradition of going to the panto; I’ve never been to the ice skating in George Square; and, this year, I never even wandered down from my flat to nearby Kelvingrove Museum to check out Elfingrove, which has generated so much conversation (both positive and negative) since it’s appearance this month. I went to the Vatersay Boys and the Glasgow Skye, though, and have covered them fairly extensively in this letter; so what more can a good teuchter ask?
Celtic Connections
I suppose now is as good a time as any to turn our attention towards Celtic Connections which, as always, is the first big event to look forward to in the calendar of the Glasgow Gael! A fair bit of the programme has been announced and it is as impressive as ever.
The much-loved Grit Orchestra (an 80-piece ensemble formed five years ago to celebrate the music of the late Martyn Bennett) are back to launch the festival on Thursday January 16 with a performance of The Declaration – a new commission written by six members of the orchestra inspired by the Declaration of Arbroath ahead of its 700th anniversary in April.
By the following Saturday, the orchestra will have moved to the Barrowland to perform Martyn Bennett’s Grit and Bothy Culture which (in a venue not necessarily associated with orchestral music) will be quite a spectacle.
Over the course of the month that follows, there are concerts by Duncan Chisholm, Breabach, Blazin’ Fiddles, Emily Smith, Julie Fowlis, Mànran, Sian, Mike McGoldrick, Peat and Diesel, Peatbog Faeries, Phil Cunningham, Session A9, Kinnaris Quintet, Transatlantic Sessions, Rura and many more!
As usual, I will be covering it as best as I can. In the new year, I will introduce a special What’s On at Celtic Connections section with more details of each gig; and try to make it to as many concerts as possible in order to review them. And most likely have a very good time in the process! It really is a great way to fend off the dreaded January blues. Although, in my experience, it really just delays them until February!
New Year…
Wishing all readers of the Glasgow Letter a good New Year when it comes. Thanks for reading my rambles and stay tuned for more Glasgowbased nonsense in 2020!